<> In my quest for a 160 meter antenna, I have been looking at one of
<> the 43' verticals such as the DX Engineering or MFJ one. Until such
<> time as I get a tower up, this route seems to be my only alternative.
<> Trees are kind of scarce in the desert.
<> My question is, and it is aimed at folks who use one of these (not you
<> guys with the 4-squares !!) how well does it work for you ? Can you work
<> the DX with it ? Is it worth the effort and cost ?
<>
<> Thanks, Dick, W1KSZ
I can offer you at least limited encouragement, Dick. I enjoy the 160
contests but am limited to a VERY small city lot with severe HOA
restrictions. I use a system that essentially uses a 43 ft vertical as the
vertical portion of an inverted L. But I don't bother with the bulk and
expense of the DX Engineering, MFJ or Array Solutions offerings (FINE
products, I am sure). Instead, for my temporary needs, I use a 40 ft
SpiderBeam fiberglas pole to support a 43 ft AWG 12 wire (angled from the
feedpoint to the top of the pole) and then connect an AWG 26 black stealth
wire from the top of the vertical wire to a 30 ft Jackite pole to form an
inverted L. This will provide better 160 meter performance than the 43 ft
vertical. Ideally, the total wire length will be 1/4 WL, but if not an L
network at the base will work wonders. The performance (as with the 43 ft
vertical) will be highly dependent on the radial system used, but I've had
reasonable success with 16 radials from 15 to 75 ft. Did 729 Qs in the ARRL
160 contest from Colorado, including some DX. Email me if you want to
discuss the details.
73 Craig AC0DS
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